Until 1 January 2007, Holmegaard was a municipality (
Danish, ''
kommune'') in
Storstrøm County in the southern part of the island of
Zealand
Zealand ( ) is the largest and most populous islands of Denmark, island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size) at 7,031 km2 (2715 sq. mi.). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 Januar ...
(''Sjælland'') in south
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
. The municipality covered an area of 66 km
2, and had a total population of 7,442 (2005). Its last mayor was Søren Dysted, a member of the
Social Democrats
Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, s ...
(''Socialdemokraterne'')
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...
. The main town and the site of its municipal council was the town of
Fensmark.
The municipality was created in 1966 when the following
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
es were combined: Fensmark-Rislev Parish and Holme-Olstrup Parish. As the result of ("Municipality Reform") in 1970, Toksværd Parish was incorporated into Holmegaard municipality, and Rislev Parish was incorporated into Næstved municipality.
Holmegaard municipality ceased to exist as the result of
''Kommunalreformen'' ("The Municipality Reform" of 2007). It was merged with existing
Fladså,
Fuglebjerg,
Næstved, and
Suså municipalities to form the new Næstved municipality. This created a municipality with an area of 681 km
2 and a total population of 78,446 (2005). The new municipality belongs to
Region Sjælland ("Zealand Region").
Holmegaard Glassworks
The home of famous Holmegaard Glassworks products is located in Fensmark. The company got its start in 1823 when Count Christian Danneskjold-Samsøe petitioned the Danish king for permission to build a glassworks at Holmegaard Mose ("Holmegaard Bog"). Today the company is known for its high-quality products of
Danish design.
References
{{Authority control
Former municipalities of Denmark